if john anderson would have been elected, he would've been sworn in on the west front. ronald reagan was sworn in on a decision made by the joint committee on the inauguration. now, ronald reagan was smart enough to realize that he could take possession of this, even though he did not order this, or choose this. he put it in his inaugural address and he said i am the first president to look west, looking out over the graves of the heroes in arlington cemetery, towards the pacific. he took ownership of that move from the east front to the west front, even though he was not the person to choose it. this is an important lesson in saying who runs the president inauguration -- the president's inauguration? ever since the president akin to the capital, congress has run the inauguration, at least the the part that takes place during swearing-in. that part has traditionally been done by the congress. they start one year in advance, long before they know who will be nominated or elected. they start to make the plans, they take a theme for the inauguration. they build a platform,